U.S. Marines assigned to Georgian Liaison Team-9 and Georgian Army soldiers assigned to the 33rd Light Infantry Battalion make their way to the extraction point during Operation Northern Lion II in Helmand province, Afghanistan. Northern Lion II was a Georgian-led operation conducted to deter insurgents, establish a presence, and gather human intelligence in the area. (Photo: Cpl. Alejandro Pena/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines conduct a census patrol in Sangin, Afghanistan, Jan. 10, 2011. The Marines conduct patrols to suppress enemy activity and gain the trust of the people. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Dexter S. Saulisbury/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines and sailors board a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter for a raid rehearsal as a part of Talisman Saber. (Photo: Cpl. Codey Underwood/U.S. Marine Corps)
Sgt. Louis Wood pays his respects to Sgt. Thomas Z. Spitzer during a memorial ceremony at Camp Leatherneck. The memorial was in honor of Spitzer, a professionally instructed gunman who was killed while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photo: Cpl. Joseph Scanlan/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 prepare to deploy to the Western Pacific aboard Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. (Photo: Cpl. Sarah Cherry/U.S. Marine Corps)
Staff Sgt. Jace Manning squats 385 pounds during a weight-lifting competition aboard the USS Bataan. (Photo: Sgt. Austin Hazard/U.S. Marine Corps)
Sgt. Brian D. Richardson, a crew chief for Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 265 (Reinforced), 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, fires a 7.62mm GAU-17/A weapon system at enemy targets from a UH-1Y Venom helicopter during live-fire training as part of Exercise Koolendong. (Photo: Sgt. Paul Robbins/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, load onto a CH-53E Super Stallion with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 466 prior to a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 5, 2014. The company conducted disruption operations in a known Taliban bed-down location for two days. (Photo: Cpl. Joseph Scanlan/U.S. Marine Corps)
Students with Marine Special Operations School at Stone Bay participate in the field training exercise Raider Spirit at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, N.C. Raider Spirit is an eight-day culminating event for the first phase of Individual Training Course, where students run light infantry scenarios as a field team. Throughout the exercise, student teams face many challenges as a result of an operationally restrictive scenario and numerous long distance foot movements with little sleep. (Photo: Cpl. Donovan Lee/U.S. Marine Corps)
Force Reconnaissance Marines with the Maritime Raid Force, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, perform a diving exit while conducting an initial High Altitude Low Opening jump out of a MV-22B Osprey. (Photo: Cpl. Todd F. Michalek/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Battalion Landing Team, 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, at Su Seung-ri Range, Pohang, Republic of Korea. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Andrew Kuppers/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines practice non-lethal ways to stop a possible enemy attack on Camp Leatherneck, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photo: Cpl. James Mast/U.S. Marine Corps)
Lance Cpl. Pablo Ruiz engages a target with an AT-4 light anti-armor weapon on Range 800. His company, the 31st MEU, is capable of conducting limited contingency operations, amphibious operations and crisis response in the Asia-Pacific region. (Photo: Cpl. Joseph Scanlan/U.S. Marine Corps)
Cpl. Daniel Hopping, assaultman, Weapons Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, shields himself from dust being kicked up from a CH-53E Super Sea Stallion lifting off during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photo: Cpl. Joseph Scanlan/U.S. Marine Corps)
Talon Exercise at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Christopher A. Mendoza/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marine Lance Cpl. Dominic Evola, a rifleman with Jump Platoon, Headquarters and Service Company, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, from Medford, N.J., greets an Afghan boy by pounding fists. (Photo: Cpl. Reece Lodder/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines wait for the command to advance after rushing out of a Republic of Korea Marine amphibious assault vehicle. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Cedric R. Haller II/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines shoulder-carry a boat to water during an amphibious operations familiarization drill as part of Exercise Cobra Gold 2014 at Hat Yao beach, Rayong, Kingdom of Thailand. (Photo: Sgt. Matthew Troyer/U.S. Marine Corps)
Lance Cpl. Daniel Vitellaro with 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, fires an M249 light machine gun during a two-week machine gunners course at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Calif., Jan. 15. The course taught Marines how to effectively operate machine guns in combat scenarios. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Joshua Murray/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines with Aircraft Rescue and Fire Fighting douse flames engulfing a mobile aircraft firefighting training device as a part of nighttime firefighter training aboard Marine Corps Air Station Kaneohe Bay. (Photo: Cpl. Matthew Callahan/U.S. Marine Corps)
Sgt. Maj. Scott T. Pile speaks to 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit Marines and sailors embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island parked pier side at Naval Base San Diego. (Photo: Gunnery Sgt. Scott Dunn/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marine Corps and Royal Air Force helicopters fly in formation after departing Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. (Photo: Staff Sgt. John Jackson/U.S. Marine Corps)
An MH-60S air crewman with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 28, Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group, gazes out of the gunner’s door of a Seahawk helicopter while participating in flight operations over the Atlantic Ocean. (Photo: Cpl. Todd F. Michalek/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marines observe explosives detonate from a safe distance on a demolitions range at Crow Valley, the Philippines. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Joseph DiGirolamo/U.S. Marine Corps)
Philippine and U.S. Marines simulate a beach landing from combat rubber raiding crafts onto a small island off the coast of Palawan, Philippines. (Photo: gt. Anthony J. Kirby/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines assigned to Golf Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, prepare to disembark amphibious assault vehicles to conduct a simulated raid at landing zone Boondocker, Marine Corps Base Hawaii. (Photo: Cpl. Matthew Callahan/U.S. Marine Corps)
Lance Cpl. Julio C. Miranda Jr. rappels down a cliff during Mountain Exercise 2014, aboard Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, Calif. (Photo: Sgt. Emmanuel Ramos/U.S. Marine Corps)
U.S. Marines with Combat Logistics Regiment 37 conduct a live-fire training sequence using the M240 Bravo Machine Gun on Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Richard Currier/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines with Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, provide outboard security after offloading from a CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan, May 1, 2014. The company operated in Tagvreshk Village, an area with suspected Taliban forces with the intent to disrupt any lethal aid. (Photo: Cpl. Joseph Scanlan/U.S. Marine Corps)
A Marine supervises from the center of The Basic School permanent personnel battalion during a 10-mile hike aboard the westside of Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. (Photo: Lance Cpl. Cuong Le/U.S. Marine Corps)
Staff Sgt. Raymond J. McKim holds his breath underwater during a Water Survival Advanced Course where he was tested on his ability to rescue distressed Marines in the water.
(Photo: Lance Cpl. Jodson B. Graves/U.S. Marine Corps)
Cpl. Daniel G. Dillender, airframes mechanic with Marine Aerial Refueler Transport Squadron 352, Marine Aircraft Group 11, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, is reunited with his wife, Angelica Dillender, and their dog Bella at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif. (Photo: Sgt. Keonaona C. Paulo/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines with Fox Company, Battalion Landing Team, 2nd Marine Regiment, 3rd Battalion during Ssang Yong 14, at Old Army Tank Battalion, Pohang, South Korea. (Photo: Cpl. Sara A. Medina/U.S. Marine Corps)
A U.S. Marine with the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, Battalion Landing Team, Alpha Company 1/4, throws a training grenade during a live-fire and movement grenade training exercise at Arta Range, Djibou. (Photo: Staff Sgt. Staci Miller/U.S. Marine Corps)
Marines conduct a patrol during the final comprehensive bilateral force-on-force training evolution at the Hokkaido-Dai Maneuver Area, Hokkaido, Japan. (Photo: Pfc. Kasey Peacock/U.S. Marine Corps)
This training evolution is the first of its kind in which Marines with MRF-D and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit worked bilaterally with the Australian soldiers of Bravo Company, 5th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment as a “proof of concept” to assess the capacity of the training ranges to support a battalion-sized live-fire event. (Photo: Sgt. Sarah Fiocco/U.S. Marine Corps)
THE FEW, THE PROUD: 37 Extraordinary Photos of the U.S. Marine Corps in Action
